Us men
by Albmag
Summary: Duster and Lucas never really got to know one another before their adventure began, so they try to get to know one another during it. (Takes place at different times during the adventure)
1. chapter 1

Lucas, Duster, Boney and Kumatora huddled around the campfire they built together. It wasn't cold or anything, it just felt like the right thing to do after a long day of adventuring. They had just rescued Duster from Mr. Saturn village (Rescued from the pigmasks, not the Mr. Saturns.) and were getting one another caught up on the course of events. "So, you two found each other, then went up to the mountains?" Duster asked, rubbing his chin, "and rode an icebox down the tallest mountain?" The other three nodded, "yeah, in a way, it was a good thing you weren't with us. We might've had to leave somebody behind!" Kuma exclaimed with a yawn. Lucas nodded slightly, "b-but we're glad we found you. It wasn't the same without you..." he looked at Duster with his prize winning smile. He meant it, he missed Duster. He was probably the only villager who knew Lucas was a crybaby, but didn't make fun or gossip about him. He'd also missed Kumatora as well. She was a lot like Claus, always teasing Lucas, but ready to knock out just about anybody who made fun of him.

"Lucas, are you okay?" Duster waved a hand in front of him while Kumatora snapped her fingers at him. "What?" He blinked, "yeah, I'm fine. I just missed you both." He looked a little embarrassed from worrying his friends. With that answer, they both breathed a sigh of relief and sat back. Kumatora was the first to say something (as usual.), "aawwwww, you big baby, I missed all of you too! I'd hug you, but I'm too tired, y'know?" She beamed. Duster waited for her to finish, coughed, and looked at the ground, "yeah, it was pretty... uh, not great without you guys. Sorry for making you all worry." He coughed again, and looked back up at them with his own little smile. Kumatora snorted, "Made us worry? We're sorry for making you wait for us dude!" She laid back and looked up to the sky, "hey, I'm actually really tired, so you both will just have to have some guy time. Night." She got up and walked back to one of the huts in the village. "But I thought we were sleeping by the campfire?" Lucas called out to her. She turned on her heel, "you two and fluff pup may be used to sleeping outside, but I ain't. Laters." She started walking again, "You've never slept outside?" Duster asked with a bemused look. She turned around again obviously annoyed, "I take my sleep very seriously." She hissed at them. They decided it was best to let her go.

Lucas had to admit it was kind of nice to have Duster, with his calm disposition and protective instincts watching his back and protecting him. While Kumatora on the other hand, loud and proud, was almost like a sister version of Claus. Of anybody to be saving the world with, he couldn't think of any better people for the task. Lucas kind of felt bad he hadn't taken the time to get to know Duster. Well, no time like the present, right? He could get to know Kumatora next time, but now it's just him and Duster. And Boney, but he was asleep. "Um. So, how'd you get to be so good with all of those things you use?" Lucas asked sincerely, "I've never seen you train or anything before." Duster looked at Lucas with surprise. Nobody ever asked him that before, especially not a kid, "I trained at night. With my dad." He replied, thinking of how many nights he had been awake just to train with his dad. All of them. "Oh, that makes sense." Lucas smiled, but then frowned, "Is that how you got all of those scars?" Scars? Why is he bringing this up? "Y-yeah. Believe it or not, I fail almost every time I train with my dad. Or, used to, I should say." He sighed, "sometimes I wish I didn't have to spend so much time with him... but in the long run it was worth it, I guess." He mumbled, thinking about how Wess hadn't bothered to search for him at all. He knew Wess didn't because... because he just knew. Lucas, however, was unhappy to hear that remark about Wess. He wished Flint would've spent more time with him, but ever since Claus went missing, Lucas had felt like dirt. He knew his dad meant well, but still. "What's wrong?" Duster asked, wondering what was troubling Lucas. Lucas couldn't help it, but the more he thought about it, more he felt like his dad didn't care about him, "... I wish my dad spent time with me..." he said in a small voice. What? "What do you mean, spend time with you?" Duster was confused. Did he want Flint to play with him? "I wish he would talk to me. Dad has been leaving every morning to look for Claus, and I'm always alone." Lucas stated simply. Duster had a look of concern on his face that asked so many questions, _why would anybody do that?_ "Um... I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset." Lucas looked down and started poking at the ground with his stick. Duster shook his head "I'm not upset, I'm just... surprised is all. He doesn't talk to you?" "Yeah." "That's... not that great." He sighed in frustration. This sweet kid has lost so many people that his dad ignoring him is 'just another thing', like it's normal. Well, honestly, Wess pretty much only talks to Duster about five things. Training, eating, sleeping, how big of a moron he is and the hummingbird egg. But still, that's not really fair to Lucas. You can't lose one kid and act like the other doesn't exist. "I'm sorry about that, I didn't mean to make you think about your dad. I thought only my dad was hard on his kid." Duster coughed awkwardly, "not that it's that big of a deal, it made me be able to help you guys." He tried to laugh to relieve the tension around the fire, but Lucas squinted at Duster, "What do _you_ mean?" He asked in a confused tone. "Well, you asked about my scars, right? Most of them are from training- with him." Duster explained. Lucas' eyes widened, "h-he hurt you?" He sounded kind of scared. Duster shrugged, "he was training me, and I would get hurt if he knocked me down or something. He never wanted to hurt me, it just happened because I was awful at training." He chuckled. He realized how bad it sounded, but Wess wasn't a monster. Sure, he could be kind of a jerk, always calling him a smelly moron, telling him he was lazy- that sort of thing, but Duster figured if Wess didn't care about him, he wouldn't... he... wouldn't... Duster was lost in thought. Come to think of it, dad had always had something unkind to say about him. "Duster, do you not want to talk about it?" Lucas shuffled closer to Duster, who smiled quickly at him but then frowned again, "I-I think it'd be good to get it off my chest. Besides, you told me something, might as well tell you." Duster shrugged with his reply. He began listing everything his dad had called him, and noted he had been call a moron more than 11 times. When he finished, he looked back at Lucas. He had a shocked look and tears on his face, "how do you deal with that?" Lucas sniffled and wiped his eyes, "that must be so awful!" He finished. "I'm a grown man, I can take it. Kind of. Yeah, I-" Duster started but was startled when Lucas hugged him tight. Duster awkwardly wrapped his arms around Lucas, pulling him closer. Lucas whispered something barely audible, "I don't think you're a moron..." he hugged Duster tighter, "you're smart and strong, and I don't care if you smell weird. You're kind and gentle, even though you don't have to be, you still are, and I'm proud of you." He breathed in when he was finished. Duster was touched when Lucas told him he didn't think he was a moron, but when he told Duster he was proud of him? His arms fell limp. He'd never heard that from anybody before. Proud of a smelly thief with a messed up leg. Like all his hard work _meant something_. Lucas sure knew how to make somebody feel good about themself. It felt good to hear somebody appreciated Duster. "And besides, your dad must love you if he's been teaching you how to protect yourself," Lucas said as he released Duster, "and he probably has a hard time telling you how he feels. Some people are like that. It's very hard, I know, but I'm sure he really does think you're great." Lucas grinned, and Duster returned a halfhearted grin. His leg started hurting from when they were hugging. "Thank you, Lucas. It really means a lot. But... can you help me up? My leg hurts." He laughed silently as he held out a hand. Lucas blinked, "oh! Okay!" He exclaimed and hopped up. Grabbing Duster's hand, they both had to work together to help him up. Eventually he was standing straight up, "thank you. Ordinarily, I can do that myself, but my other leg fell asleep..." Duster explained while rubbing his neck. Lucas looked concerned, "is that from training, too?" "Yep. I like to soak in the hot springs when it starts acting up. Wanna come with me?" Duster offered as he kicked dirt into what remained of the campfire. Lucas nodded, and they set off towards the springs.

Upon arrival both young men started taking off their clothes to get in. Duster had just thought of a story from when he was a kid, "wanna hear a funny story?" Duster asked as he was unbuttoning his shirt, "it's about my first time going to the hot springs," Duster smiled fondly at the memory. Lucas looked slightly amused, "sure!" He answered as he slipped into the hot water, letting it envelope his entire body. Duster got into the spring with Lucas before he started his story, "well, after a long day of hard training, my dad told me to go to the hot springs. By myself," Duster explained, "well, first time at the hot springs, right? I...got in and everything." Lucas looked confused, "that's funny?" Duster grinned sheepishly and lowered himself into the water until only his head was above the water, "I didn't know you weren't supposed to be naked..." he whispered.

Lucas's eyes widened and so did his grin (he was trying not to smile), "oh, no." Lucas himself felt embarrassed. Duster nodded, "oh yes. And then some of the villagers came over and got in too." Duster gave a big sigh, "When I saw that they weren't taking off their, you know... I panicked." "What did you DO?" Lucas asked sheepishly, hoping this didn't have the expected outcome. Duster shrugged, "did what I do best. I pretended to sleep until they left. When I finally got home, dad was furious, but then I told him what happened. He laughed so much and so hard that I thought everybody in the village could hear him." Duster stood back up in the spring and rested his arms on the edge, wincing at his leg, "...and then he started telling me how I still smelled, even after a 2 hour long bath." He chuckled. Lucas didn't know what to say except, "does it still hurt?" "Huh?" "Your leg. Does it still hurt, even after soaking it?" He pointed at where he thought Duster's leg was. Duster frowned, "I'd rather not talk about it, buddy. It's not you or anything, I just don't-" "t-that's okay." Lucas mentally kicked himself, "I was just curious." He mumbled and climbed out of the bath, with Duster following behind, "you don't have to get out because I am," Lucas glanced towards the ground, annoyed at himself for ruining the nice time. Duster chuckled a bit, "well, if you hadn't gotten out, I'd be there forever," he said as he finished buttoning up his shirt.

They started walking silently back to the village.

"It does still hurt," Duster said somberly, looking straight ahead, "sometimes I imagine myself getting in and coming out without the problem anymore." Lucas sighed quietly, Duster was such a nice guy and his friend. He hoped he could someday heal Duster's leg completely. "Lucas? Thanks for listening to me. And for understanding..." Duster awkwardly put a hand on the teen's shoulder, then quickly removed it, just like his dad. "You're welcome. And thank you for listening to me Duster, it really means a lot." Lucas said quietly, putting a hand where Duster put his. Flint used to do the same thing back when... he was around. Was Duster trying to make him feel better...?

The two boys made it back to the village, each one going into a separate hut. One was the loneliest boy in the world, yet he also carried the world on his shoulders.

The other was a young man who was so lonely, yet always with his father.

"It felt nice to not be the only one..." both thought to themselves.

End *

I like to imagine a strong uncle/brotherly-like-bond between Lucas and Duster. Duster seems to be that way in the game, and it makes me like him way more. They could've made him a silent brick wall, but he's thoughtful. I also like to think since Flint has been gone, Lucas unintentionally looks up to Duster as a father figure- but not like "hey dad" but more like "is it okay if I do this/that?" And it makes Duster feel like he's holding back Lucas from being a kid. Duster finally catches on, and starts showing Lucas things his dad showed him.


	2. 2 Tanetane Island

Thank you for all of the likes and reviews. They are greatly appreciated :) Since you guys liked my first chapter, I decided to write some more.

-After the events of Tanetane island-

The four unlikely heroes gladly threw themselves into the hot spring after finding out they had actually bathed in... yeah.

Everybody was exceptionally quiet, as they all had witnessed their deepest darkest fears (except Boney.). Without any meaningless chatter, the spring had felt quite dead and wasn't really relaxing at all.

Duster and Kumatora were both so distracted by their thoughts they had missed Lucas getting out of the spring and quietly walking away. They only noticed after Boney drew their attention, "*Woof woof!* (Hey, can I go with you?)" he asked his master, but was only ignored. "You guys stay, I'll talk to him," Kumatora said as she got out. Duster just mumbled something along the lines of 'okay'.

 _"Might as well get some rest,"_ Duster thought to himself, closing his eyes. He tried and tried, but the images from before kept flashing in his mind, keeping him awake.

 _You ungrateful child. You would make anyone cry!_ _It's my fault you lost all the use of your leg. Come with me son, let's go traaaaaaaaaaain! Why don't you have any fancy powers like Lucas or Kumatora? I'd much rather have them as my children than you. They're actually useful!_ Duster winced. If asked, he would deny actually thinking that way, but Lucas and Kumatora are technically more useful than him...

He was close to falling asleep (or at least he thought so,) when he was suddenly being shaken awake, "Duster." "Mm?" "DUSTER." He cracked open one of his eyes; the image of Kumatora was standing in front of him, "Duster wake up I can't find Lucas please wake up!" She spat out while taking deep breaths, not only from running but also because she was actually scared something happened to Lucas.

Duster blinked. The cogs weren't quite turning in his head yet, "Slow down," he put a hand on her shoulder, "and start from the beginning," he said in a level voice.

If a person was freaking out, you wouldn't be able to get anything done by freaking out with them.

She took some more deep breaths, "there isn't much to say. I left, I looked, looked, looked some more and then some and I still can't find him!" She exclaimed. Duster got out of the spring and started walking with Kumatora as he was getting dressed, "we'll split up, you go north and east, I'll go south and west, Okay?" He nodded to her, who nodded back, and both took off in opposite directions.

Duster had been running quite a bit before he slid to a halt, " _Boney!"_ He facepalmed, Kumatora wasn't thinking clearly enough to have thought of using him to find Lucas. He cupped his hands and called out, "Boney! Bone~y!" Duster waited for him to come running. Sure enough, Boney came from the direction of the hot spring, "Boney, can you find Lucas?" Duster asked, kneeling on one knee. Boney barked, sniffed, and started running off the path they had taken. Duster followed.

After a while, they were back at the shore that they'd all washed up on, Lucas was sitting on the shore with a forlorn look on his face. Duster breathed a sigh of relief; he could never forgive himself if he let anything happen to the boy. He quietly walked over and sat next to Lucas, "Hey, we were worried about you, you know," Duster tried to sound stern, but was afraid of overdoing it, "you had Kumatora running all over the place. We thought you were hurt." Duster finished and searched the kid's face for any indication he'd gotten through to him. He hadn't.

Duster couldn't think of anything else to do besides picking Lucas up, so he figured he would, "come on, we have a needle to reach," Duster said as he stood up, "Boney, please go tell Kumatora we found him, and to meet us at the shell." He instructed Boney, who barked and then ran off in the direction they had come from, leaving the two alone. Duster turned to Lucas and held out his arms, "come on, I'll carry you."

Lucas let Duster pick him up, and all he did was wrap his arms around the thief's neck.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush, bud. That was a horrible experience, but at least none of it was real." Duster tried to console his friend, but even he didn't really believe what he had said. Silence. The walk was fairly quiet, aside from Duster's grunting. (The kid definitely didn't need to eat more, that was certain.)

Duster couldn't keep this up, "Lucas, come on. Say something, please -This is hard enough for me as it is." Duster finally leaned against a tree, gasping for breath, "you aren't the only one... who was going through that too-" he dropped Lucas's legs. Lucas let go of his neck, dropped down and steadied him, "D-duster? Duster!" Lucas shook him, "Duster- what's wrong?!" Lucas asked, getting scared. _What do you do when an adult doesn't feel well?_

Duster's breathing slowed down a bit, "just tired." "Are you sure?" "Yeah. You're not exactly light, bud." "But you were talking about the things we saw... right?" Lucas trailed off, looking at Duster with concern, "what did you see?" He asked. Duster shrugged tiredly, "just my dad. He kept berating me, saying how he would much rather have you or Kumatora as his kid. How you guys are 'actually useful'. I know it's not real, but it still hurt. I'll get over it." He said as he closed his eyes and smiled lightly, He was just letting all of the hallucinations get to him.

Lucas sat next to Duster with Lifeup and Healing at the ready. He didn't know which to use, so he used both. Duster opened an eye at Lucas' touch, "Oh, thanks," Duster reached over and rustled his hair. Lucas really was a good kid. It ate at Duster to see what happened to Hinawa and Claus- and Flint.

"I saw Claus," Lucas said abruptly.

Duster's eyes widened in a mix of shock and surprise, "wha-" "and he kept asking why I abandoned him, and he kept telling me everybody would make my life h-hell- That they would throw sticks and stones a-and-" his chest was heaving. Duster stood at his full height and put both of his hands on Lucas's shoulders, but the child kept going, "and dad said it was my fault mom wasn't coming home, and he was going to-" "Lucas, you don't have to-" "beat me!" Lucas looked like he wanted to cry, but was too scared to. Duster would much rather Lucas cry because the look in his eyes was downright depressing to look at, "Lucas, your dad would never blame you for that. And that wasn't Claus, it wasn't, okay?" Duster looked Lucas in the eye, "And Kumatora and I would never let anybody lay a hand on you- not that Flint ever would." He stated, still holding Lucas's shoulders, "We all love you."

Lucas started sobbing.

Duster had seen Lucas cry before, but this was different. Intense.

"L-Lucas, what's wrong?"

The young thief kneeled to meet Lucas's eyes, "wha-" "I miss mom and Claus," Lucas sobbed with his face in his hands, "and I'm afraid of losing you and Boney and Kumatora and-" "Lucas..." "you guys are all I have left!" He wept while shaking like a feather in Duster's arms, "I saw you three dying so many times- just like with mom..." Lucas said as his tears started to subside. "you saw your mom dying after eating...?" Duster questioned, trying to sound calm. "No, from the drago." Lucas answered quietly. _Oh._ Duster had never known that he watched it happen.

Not knowing what else to say, Duster patted his back, "Feel better?" Duster asked as he and Lucas broke out of the hug.

"Yeah. I'm sorry," "for what? Feeling emotion?" "For crying so much over nothing..." "there's nothing wrong with crying, you know." Duster said as he stood up and held out his arms, "come on, Kumatora is waiting for us. And Boney." Lucas nodded tiredly and climbed onto his back, and the two started towards Mixolydia's shell.

By the time they made it, Lucas had fallen asleep on Duster's back, the poor kid. Duster had quite a bit of trouble carrying Lucas, but the climbing would be hardest.

Wait- climbing? Crap.

Duster tried to shake Lucas awake, "psst, wake up." He whispered into Lucas's ear. Duster set Lucas down and tried again, "psst, wake up!" He was shaking Lucas lightly.

"It doesn't look like that'll work, does it?" A familiar voice came from behind him. Duster flipped around and found himself facing Kumatora, "what took you two so long anyway?" she folded her arms and grumped. Duster breathed a sigh of relief, "He saw Claus in a hallucination." he stated plainly. "He saw WHO?" she put her hands on her hips and tapped her boot impatiently. Duster remembered she had never really met anybody from the village, let alone from Lucas's family.

He took some time to inform her about what had happened, along with who Claus and Hinawa are- er, were.

After explaining, she shook her head slowly, "W-wow. I had no idea- and Luke is always so happy..." she looked away from the two guys, afraid Duster would think she was being soft. "Yep. He's a trooper, that's for sure." Duster murmured as he glanced at the child, who was fast asleep. He looked so peaceful.

"If you want, I could chill with him while you kick back. I know you've been carrying him quite a bit." Kumatora yawned and plopped next to Lucas. "Well? You gonna go or what?" She asked and crossed her arms.

Duster blinked, "W-what? Yeah, I'm going," he turned to leave, "just gonna take a nap..." he said to himself.

"He looks up to you, ya know," Kumatora called after him as she laid back on the ground, crossing her arms behind her head.

Duster turned around with a puzzled look on his face, "when and why did he tell you that? And why're you telling me this?" He asked as he approached the two.

Kumatora squinted harshly at Duster, "I dunno, just thought you needed to hear it. And he doesn't have to say it, it's just how he acts around you. I only realized it after you told me about his dad not bein' around all the time, which sucks by the way. You're a guy, he's a guy, he looks up to you. Boom. Besides the smell, what's not to look up to?" She replied in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I would appreciate it if you didn't comment about my... odor." Duster furrowed his brow at her observation, "and I never would have thought you would be good at reading body language Kumatora."

She sat up quickly, "wha- because I'm all tough? That doesn't mean I don't pick up on things like that. And I never said your smell was a problem." She grumbled as she glared at him.

"Then why bother mentioning it? And there really isn't anything to look up to. Period." He frowned as he thought about what she said.

"I dunno." Kumatora grunted as she poked a pinky into her ear, "you aren't a show off or a jerk. You don't put Luke down or make fun of him, even when *I* make fun of him."

"That's because I wouldn't want other people to talk to me that way." He grumped flatly.

"Too bad being a decent human being is going out of style, right?" She smirked, "anyhow, you're a pretty cool dude. You have all of those awesome tools and stuff... hey! How's about you n' me stapling Lucas to the wall?" She grinned mischievously.

Duster crossed his arms and glared at the pink-haired princess.

"Guess your old man isn't the only geezer I know," She laughed out loud as she laid back down. Duster shushed her, but Lucas was already stirring.

"I'll take care of it." She waved a hand nonchalantly as she cast PK hypnosis on their little friend. Lucas stopped moving at once, and Duster was visibly perturbed.

"What did you do that for?!" He stared with his mouth gaping.

Kumatora made a face, "sorry, Duster. I assumed you wanted him to stay asleep."

"We're wasting time. We need to get that needle, and it's- argh! Never mind." He started to lecture Kumatora but his leg throbbed.

God, he hated it when that happened.

"What's the matter with you?" She questioned and raised an eyebrow.

"Like you would care." He grumbled as he turned to leave, "just watch him."

"Whatever." She shrugged.

 _"That was not... great."_ Duster thought to himself as he trudged along. He could tell something was off with Kumatora. She wasn't usually this way towards Lucas or him. He'd decided to give her some alone time with Lucas, and take a break in the spring to take the pain away from his leg.

* * *

Oh no, it looks like the hallucinating really bothered Kumatora and Lucas!

Here's to duster being a real trooper.

And don't worry, Kumatora isn't a jerk in my story.


	3. Chapter 3

-after making it back to Tazmily Village-

The village was pretty much deserted. It was a sad sight for sure; however, the band of heroes tried to make the best of the situation.

-in Lucas' yard-

The thief and the boy stood across from each other. Lucas was kicking, while Duster dodged and gave advice.

"Next time, try kicking a little higher," Duster instructed the young psychic, "and don't stay still when you kick, let your body flow with it."

Lucas nodded and kicked a little higher than he previously had done. Duster dodged and watched him carefully. He liked what he was seeing thus far. "Good, good. Do you think you could try a bit higher?" Duster coaxed calmly with a raise of his brow.

Lucas looked unsure, "um... I think I can try it." He nodded and went back into his stance. He kicked once, twice, and tried a third time but fell backward.

Duster lumbered over and held out a hand for Lucas. "You okay?" He asked, Lucas' cheeks turned red as he took his hand.

"Yeah, sorry. I knew I couldn't do it." He mumbled as he rubbed his neck.

"So why didn't you tell me you didn't think you could do it?" Duster grunted as he pulled him up.

Lucas didn't meet Duster's eyes; that told him more than enough, "hey, listen. You never need to be embarrassed. When we're doing this together, this training? You don't have to worry about anybody else because it'll stay between us men." Duster ruffled Lucas' hair, "don't worry, we'll get this done. Together."

Lucas had a little smile, "men?" He took up his stance again.

"Yeah, you and me. We're the only men. Boney doesn't count." Duster explained as he too took up his stance.

Lucas nodded silently. Once again, he kicked once, twice and then tried a third time.

He made the kick. Duster barely dodged it.

Lucas realized what he'd done, "oh- I almost hit you..." He said with a frown.

Duster clapped, "I know! You're doing great," He replied with a grin, "wanna try something harder? Or are you finished?" He asked as he pulled a roll of cheese out.

Lucas would've been hesitant, but Duster's confidence in him remedied that for the moment. He nodded vigorously.

"Oh, and before we start," Duster said and held out some cheese, "want some? A little birdie told me you like it." He said with a chuckle.

Lucas gladly took some, "who?" He inquired before indulging.

"Kumatora. She said you were the only one who would eat it. She hates it." Duster answered. Lucas just chewed thoughtfully.

"Anyhow, now that it's all gone we might as well get back to training." Duster suggested as he stretched.

Lucas raised his hand. Duster noticed, "huh? What?" He directed his attention to Lucas, "actually, can we try something... different?" Lucas asked with a kind of glint in his eyes.

"Sure. What do you have in mind?" Duster complied, wondering just what he was thinking.

Lucas looked a little nervous, "do you think we can try using my powers along with the kicking?" He shrugged slightly, "it's just a thought. You don't have to if you don't feel like it."

Duster didn't see why it wouldn't work; if he can use his hands for his powers, why wouldn't his legs work?

"Well, we could try that. We would need Kumatora with us though. I'm not an expert on psi..." He explained, "but other than that, I'd be happy to try that. I guess we should probably go find her anyways."

"Oh, she's with We- um, your dad." Lucas murmured the last part.

Oh. Well, this certainly made things awkward. Duster was trying to avoid his father as long as they were in town. If Wess wants to see Duster, Wess will have to come find him.

Duster didn't let Lucas see he was a little bothered by that, "oh, okay. Are they at our house?" He asked as he started walking towards the village.

Lucas suddenly realized nobody had ever told Duster his house was gone. Oops.

"Um, t-that's the thing. They're not at your house, they're at the elderly home. At least, that's what I think it's called, I'm not sure." He called after Duster and ran to catch up.

Duster slowed down a bit, "well where's that?" He asked nonchalantly.

"Um, well, it's where your house used to be," Lucas mumbled. "What?" "It's-" "no, I heard you the first time. What happened?" Duster inquired, his voice becoming withdrawn.

"The pigmask guys tore you and your dad's house down after it was struck by lightning, and built a building for all of the older men in the village," Lucas explained, thinking about how depressing the place was, "they even put my grandpa in there. I hate that place..."

Duster was quiet the rest of the way. Lucas realized Duster was troubled by this information, so he kept quiet too.

They finally made it to the sad looking building. Duster cringed at the ugly grey... thing that sat before him. "I don't understand..." he rasped to nobody in particular.

Lucas hated the place even more now, but he felt even worse for Duster. He had nowhere to go now. "I'm sorry, Duster." Lucas glanced away from the confused thief.

"It's not your fault, don't worry about it," was all he could manage before he entered.

The sight that awaited him was disheartening. Leaky pipes and cracked paint. Duster was filled with anger and disgust.

They heard voices upstairs, so that's where they went. The sooner they were out of this place, the better.

Lucas walked in first, not realizing Duster stayed outside of his father's room. Duster didn't know how to explain it, but he felt he'd seen this place before.

Then it came back to him. While he was still Lucky, Kumatora and Lucas had brought him out here to try and jog his memory. Wess wasn't interested in him at all.

" _Right now, you need to find that hummingbird egg and quickly! Get going."_

Wess didn't want to see him then, why would he now?

Wess and Kumatora turned to see Lucas and Boney. Wess grinned slightly at the sight of Lucas, " I heard you were off training with Duster. How'd you do?" Wess asked as he pulled a stool over to his chair for Lucas, and he sat.

"He says I did very well. We actually came back to ask Kuma if it was possible for me to learn how to use my powers through kicking." Lucas explained as he fidgeted on the uncomfortable stool.

Wess and Kumatora both looked intrigued at the idea, but Wess frowned, "wait, where is he?" He questioned Lucas. Lucas glanced back at the door, "he was right behind me- I'll be right back." He hopped off the stool and out of the room.

Lucas saw Duster standing at the top of the stairs. He walked over beside him, "your dad was wondering where you went. Don't you want to see him?" He asked.

Duster nodded slowly, "does he really want to see me?" He asked quietly.

Lucas opened his mout- "DUSTER!" They both jumped, and headed back into the room. Lucas was worried, and Duster was clenching and unclenching his hands nervously.

There stood Wess with a scowl. He scanned his son for a minute and then- "is it really you? Duster? Not that Lucky guy?" He asked with a little hitch in his voice. Duster nodded.

Wess' scowl faded away a bit, "you nodded? Duster! Wahahaha! I can't believe it! It's really you!" He closed the distance between them and grabbed his son's hand, "ohhh, I'm sorry you had to see me in a place like, well, this. Uh, ahem. We can kick our feet up and talk about your adventures later. You all have a lot of work waiting for you!" Wess laughed once more.

Duster nodded and left, Kumatora on his heels. She was worried about the way Duster was acting.

Wess just stood with a smile on his face, but Lucas saw in his eyes 3 long years of a father's worry and love. Wess turned to Lucas, "my, you look more and more gallant every day. It's really intriguing." Wess murmured.

Lucas was hesitant to say anything, but the thought of Duster's plight was on his mind, "you really missed him, r-right?" Lucas fiddled with the badge Nippolyte had given him.

Wess' mask of happiness came off a bit, "of course I did. Duster is my pride and joy." He exclaimed. Lucas just sat there, just looking into Wess' eyes, with a contemplating look.

Wess' face fell a bit, "what's wrong, Lucas?"

He crossed his arms.

He didn't know why he was so scared, "why do you talk to him like that, then?" Lucas managed to ask. Wess looked a little... ashamed?

"I'm just- just an angry old fool." Wess said and walked to the door, and closed it, "you never met my wife- his mother- because of him." He sighed, "she died giving birth. To Duster."

Lucas fidgeted on his stool, "that doesn't make it right to treat him the way you do." Lucas quietly reprimanded the older man.

Wess closed his eyes with a frown, "I know, I know..."

"I just miss her, that's all. And he looks so much like her- I just..." Wess was silent. Shaking? "I was so angry. Angry at him, her and myself. For doing that to her. I'm the one who killed her too."

He was trying not to cry. "And I thought I lost my boy, too. I took him for granted, but fate taught me a lesson. You brought me that 'Lucky' and I about lost it right there. Having your child not remember you," Wess took a deep breath, "it hurts. But I just knew how to pretend. Losing... Claus and Hinawa... you probably will understand; however, losing your own child is somehow worse." Wess looked at Lucas. "When you all are finished, I'll talk to him. I don't want him being distracted by me."

Lucas himself was trying to cry, "that's alright." Wess ruffled his hair, "don't cry. It won't help anything. Especially me. I've been an ass to my son, pardon my language, and I don't deserve the tears." He huffed and patted Lucas' back. He just nodded.

"I-I'll go find him. We're close to another needle, too." Lucas explained.

Wess hurried Lucas off the stool and out the door, "well don't waste any more time! Go, go go!" He yelled with a smile. Lucas took off running down the hill and into the village to look for his friend.

As soon as Lucas was out of sight, Wess frowned, " _forgive me, Dusty_..." he let a tear fall and shook his head, "what an old fool I've become."

-outskirts of Tazmily, beach-

Duster didn't care where his legs took him. He just took off running once he left the building. It didn't feel right to call it a home. That place was awful.

Duster's head was full of too much to think clearly.

 _Dad cares- he was happy to see you!_

 _He didn't look for me._

 _He didn't care when I was there as Lucky._

 _My house is gone, where am I going to go? Where's dad going to go?_

Duster finally slowed his run when he reached the cliffs on the beach. He clutched his head in agony, confusion, and anger.

He screamed as loud as he possibly could.

He didn't care how loud he was, nobody lived in Tazmily anymore. When his lungs and voice gave out, he fell flat on his back and looked at the sky.

Kumatora's face soon obstructed his view, "wow. That's the loudest I've ever heard you be," she smirked then frowned, "hey, dude. You're crying. You okay?" She sat next to Duster.

Duster nodded, "I'm fine." He coughed, his voice was really pretty sore now. "Your old man was pretty happy to see you, so what're you so upset about? You were being pretty weird back at the house too."

Duster shrugged, "just wish he cared when I _was_ around." He replied as if it was a bit much to ask. She just nodded, "the geezer just never says it to your face."

He turned his head slowly to face her, "hmm?" He mumbled. Kumatora sighed, "he doesn't ever brag about you when you're around, but when you're gone..." she shrugged as she explained.

"He may call you a moron, like, all the time, but my god he's annoying when he's talking about you." She finished with a small grin.

Duster was doubtful, "he doesn't talk about me." He whispered, trying to convince himself. Kumatora 'pffted', "how would you know? He's just weird like that. He gets weird when it comes to emotions and stuff, you know?" She raised her brow.

" _Figures._ " Duster thought to himself, "actually, he's pretty harsh." He informed her.

"Mm. Do you have any good memories of you two?" She asked as she fiddled with a blade of grass.

Duster shook his head at first, but then he slowly nodded, "he taught me how to do the dance to open the door in the castle. When I was a kid. I forgot. When he took me fishing the first time. When he-" duster shrugged, "yeah I have a few good memories, but the bad outweighs the good." "So he's a jerk. I'm a jerk too."

"He didn't care when I was Lucky."

"Because Lucky isn't his son," Kumatora sighed, "Duster is. Why do you think he was freaking out when he saw you? If he didn't love ya, he probably wouldn't have done that. Besides, I'd kick his butt if he was a jerk to you then." She grinned and flexed a muscle.

Duster grinned a tiny bit, "please don't. And you're probably right. He's just... I don't know. Weird. And a jerk, I guess. Thank you, Kumatora." Duster sat up and stretched.

"Hey, don't mention it. After all, I was a jerk to you back at that stupid island. Sorry, again." She gave a big grin. "It's okay." Duster reassured her.

Kumatora got up and started walking back to town, "we should probably find Lucas. Weren't we all supposed to train him and stuff?" She asked as she remembered the conversation back at the house.

Duster had gotten up too, "yes, but... where'd he go?" Duster looked around, realizing Lucas never came with them. "Dunno." She smirked, "race ya back to town!" She started running and laughed at Duster's sound of confusion.

She stopped laughing as he flew right past her. "W- no fair! How can you run that fast?!" She shouted after him, to no avail. He was gone.

She finally made it back and saw him sitting on a bench with Boney at his feet. She stomped over to him, "not fair." She huffed, and doubled over, heaving.

Duster was smiling, "I'm just fast." He shrugged smugly. Shmugged? Shrugly?

She point a finger at him, "when this is all over, we're having a rematch." She sat next to him on the bench.

When Lucas finally found the two, they were passed out, with Kumatora was leaning on Duster. He just sat with them and thought about the conversation he'd had with Wess.

" _People sure are weird." He thought to himself._

He looked around at the deserted village and made a silent resolution. " _I will fix my home." He thought to himself to instill confidence. With that done, he leaned back and tried to fall asleep._

If a stranger were to walk by, they might've thought them all to be family.

They would be right.

* * *

Diddly done. Until next time, ciao.


End file.
